


Leading to You

by SociallyAwkwardFox



Series: JayTim Week: Tropes & AUs 2018 [4]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), Red Robin (Comics)
Genre: Age Difference, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Blood, Fluff, Hospitals, M/M, Red String of Fate
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-22
Updated: 2018-03-22
Packaged: 2019-04-06 09:48:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14054271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SociallyAwkwardFox/pseuds/SociallyAwkwardFox
Summary: From the moment Tim's string appeared, he'd been fasinated with it and who was on the other end. Unfortunately for him, the age gap between them makes stumbling upon each other much more difficult. In the end, it's worth the wait.





	Leading to You

Even though he knew he should be paying attention to the man in the suit his parents had told him multiple times was The Bruce Wayne, he found himself more entertained with the red string wrapped around his left pinky. When it had first appeared on a rainy August day when he was ten, the wonder at its magical appearance had quickly been squashed by his parents. Red strings did not appear until the eldest reached their sixteenth birthday, which meant a six year gap between himself and his soulmate. His parents had assured him nothing good could come from such an age difference and they would find him someone suitable. When he eavesdropped on their frantic conversations, he often heard his mother fretting about his soulmate being a whore or poor or male and his father declaring no son of his would date such filth.

Of course, that didn’t stop his endless curiosity from conjuring up possibilities of who he was fated to spend the rest of his life with. While he daydreamed of finally meeting them, his fingers would play with the warm, silky string and occasionally give it gentle tugs. Sometimes, he swore he felt someone else tugging in response, then he’d come back to his senses and realize he was being ridiculous. His soulmate was six years older than him and probably didn’t have time to sit around tugging on a piece of string. They probably had friends and family and tons of homework and had a cool hobby.

A hand gripping his knee hard enough to leave a bruise directed his attention away from the string and to his parents. He knew immediately he’d get a talking to once they got in the car, when he noticed Bruce Wayne standing next to his father’s chair with his hands clasped behind his back. Surprisingly, he realized that Bruce Wayne didn’t look annoyed by his inattention, but faintly amused and possibly understanding. He even gave a little wink, like he knew exactly what Tim was thinking and wanted to confirm his suspicions.

“Mr. Wayne asked you a question, Timothy.” His mother’s voice cut through the pleasant moment like an icy knife. “It’s impolite to not answer.”

“It’s perfectly fine, Mrs. Drake. It’s clear he’s a bit preoccupied. When did you get that? You’re still on the younger side.”

For a moment, he hesitated to answer, but he wanted nothing more than to talk about his red string with someone that cared enough to listen. “Two years ago, sir.”

“And how old were you?”

“Ten.”

“Really? I didn’t get mine until I was sixteen. It must be nice to have it so young. To have a reminder that there’s someone out there in the world that cares for you.”

“But…” He wanted nothing more than to clamp his mouth shut to avoid embarrassing his parents, but the encouraging smile on Bruce Wayne’s face crumbled his resolve. “But it doesn’t always end up happy. Sometimes people die or they never find each other or they’re mean and hurt the person they’re supposed to love.”

“That’s true. I bet people tell you all the time you’re a smart boy.”

“Most people call me nosy.”

“Well, how else are you supposed to learn? Watching people and learning from them is an excellent way to learn, especially important lessons about life.”

“Really?”

“Yes. My father always told me that there’s only so much you can learn from books because life isn’t lived in between the pages. It’s lived here among people, so we need to learn about people by watching and observing.”

Tim took a few seconds to digest the information, then gave an understanding nod. “I’ll be sure to remember that, Mr. Wayne.”

“I’m sure you will and good luck finding them. They’ll have to be quite an individual to keep up with you.”

* * *

 

It was both expected and frustrating watching several people his age find their soulmate during the course of their high school career. Some of them stumbled upon each other on a regular school day, while others happened at sporting events or other functions that involved people from around the state visiting. It wasn’t that he felt jealous of the couples finding their partner or, on a few occasions, partners at the end of their string. In all reality, he wanted to feel nothing except joy for them, but the reminder that it was highly unlikely he’d find his soulmate without accidentally bumping into them on the street while he was in high school came to mind every time he witnessed it.

So, despite being happy for her, he couldn’t help the pang in his chest as he watched his best friend weaving her way through the crowd of people milling around to get to a black-haired girl leaned against a wall. While he couldn’t see it, he knew their string would be pulsing brighter and brighter with every step closer Steph got to the girl. As if a switch had been flipped the girl turned her head to look down at her string, then flicked her gaze up to meet Stephanie’s eyes. Watching them interacting for the first time sent waves of emotion rolling through Tim, until he couldn’t stand to look at the two any longer. He looked off into the distance and played absentmindedly with the string wrapped around his pinky.

He was so lost in thought, he didn’t realize Steph had return with the girl beside her, until she rested a comforting hand on his shoulder. “We should find seats.”

“Sorry.”

“It’s fine. I’m used to it.”

“You’ll find them one day.”

“Sure.” Without thinking, he tugged on the string and imagined a responding pull on the other end attempting to comfort him. “Let’s go. We’ll get stuck somewhere shitty if we don’t hurry.”

“Tim-”

“It’s fine. Like I said, I’m used to it. Plus, I’m not the only one still waiting. There’s no reason to get upset about it or anything like that.”

“Most of them have soulmates slightly older than them, Tim. It’s different.”

“You don’t have to remind me. I’m well aware of that.”

While he expected Steph to counter him, the soft voice of her soulmate cut through the tension between them. “My brother thinks his soulmate is a lot younger than him. Of course, he can’t be sure, but he says he’s always had this feeling they were. He can’t explain it and the longer he goes without finding them the surer he is. Our foster father tells him all the time that it’s a good thing he trusts his gut and stays patient. Some people his age that haven’t met their soulmates yet start to give up on the hope of ever finding them.”

“How does he do it?”

“When I asked him, he said it’s because he believes that they want to find him just as much as he wants to find them. He can feel them through the string.”

“Really?”

“Yes. It’s rare, but a specialist told him that it happens on occasion when bonds are extremely powerful. Usually, it’s found between two individuals that will face trauma. People think it’s to help them stay together, but the specialist said she wasn’t so sure. If that were the case, more people would be able to feel through the string. She thinks it takes a special, deep connection between to people for it to be possible.”

“How does he feel through the string?” In all his research on age gaps and other rarely talked about things regarding soulmates, he’d never stumbled across something even remotely similar to what the girl’s brother felt. “What does he feel?”

“He feels emotions from the string, but he has a hard time explaining how he feels it. It’s different depending on the emotion.”

“Sometimes, when I’m messing with mine, I think I feel someone pulling back.”

“Maybe they are, because they can feel you.”

He smiled softly at the thought and gave his string a little tug. “Maybe.”

* * *

 

“How long have you been here?”

While he wanted nothing more than to pretend he hadn’t heard Kon, he knew better than to do so after the previous time he’d attempted to do so. “No idea. What time is it?”

“Bedtime.”

“Let me finish this one thing.”

“Nope. You’ve done enough for today. It’s time to pack it all up and come back to the apartment. You can come back tomorrow to finish.”

“It’ll only take a few minutes.”

“That’s what you said last time and it took a lot longer than a few minutes.” Hands grabbed his chair and pulled him far enough back he could no longer reach his laptop. “I’ll carry you out of here if I have to. It’s not like you weigh much.”

“I weigh plenty.”

“Are you going to make me carry you?”

“Bite me, Kon.”

“Not even in your wildest dreams.”

With a roll of his eyes, Tim stood from his chair to begin packing, only to get distracted by a soft tugging on his pinky. “I’m going. No need to get pushy.”

“See, even your soulmate agrees with me!”

“How often are the two of you going to gang up on me after we meet?”

“As often as we need to.”

Letting out a fond huff, Tim leaned against Kon’s side as they made their way out of the nearly empty library. The moon shone brightly down on the steps, helping the soft glow emanating from the library to illuminate the stairs. He tugged his jacket a bit tighter around him as a sudden gust of chilly air hit them and he gladly accept the arm Kon draped across his shoulders. It didn’t surprise him in the least that the campus appeared to be devoid of any life. Even the students and professors used to the chill preferred to stay out of it if they had the choice.

A twig unexpectedly snapping to their right had Tim pausing to look in the direction of the noise and he froze at the sight. Someone with their face covered stood a few feet away from them clutching a gun tightly in their right hand. Unfortunately, their eyes met and Tim watched in terror as the person aimed the gun at him. While his instincts told him to run, his feet were rooted to the spot and he could do nothing expect stare. Vaguely, he heard Kon yelling something, but it couldn’t break through his blood pumping in his ears.

He felt a shock of pain rip through his torso, then looked down to see a dark stain flowering upon his grey coat. Tentatively, he prodded a few fingers against the spot and pulled them away to find them stained a familiar red. The pain hit full force as the realize of what happened overpowered the numbing effect of the adrenaline pumping through him. His hand flattened against the spot and he felt his body go completely off-kilter. Strong hands caught him before he could hit the ground, then gently lowered him the rest of the way. The same hands frantically opened his coat and pressed down hard on the wound.

His hands scrambled frantically for something to cling to as the pressure caused the pain to spike up significantly. A sudden push against the wound caused his back to arch off the pavement and some sort of noise exploded out of his throat. Someone calling his name attempted to break through the pain and the pumping blood, but everything went dark before he could reply with more than a whimper.

* * *

 

Beeping greeted him as he slowly woke from the heaviest sleep he’d had in a while. Not the beeping of his alarm, but a steady beep he recognized from spending days at his mother’s bedside as she battled with cancer. His mind easily supplied him with the reason he now rested on a fluffy hospital bed, probably being paid for by his father. When he finally forced his eyes open, he looked down to see several blankets covering the spot he’d been shot.

A lack of coordination made it difficult for him to remove the blankets, so he shifted his head around in search of the button to call a nurse. He reached up with his left hand to push the button, then froze immediately after at the sight of his vibrant string. To his excitement, the string gave a strong pulse and he felt a familiar soft tug. While he wanted nothing more than to jump out of bed, he knew there was no way he’d have enough control over his legs to do that when he could hardly feel them.

Any other contemplating on how he could manage it disappeared from his mind as an annoyed looking nurse walked through the door and quickly shut it behind her. He ignored the pulse at his pinky in favor of watching the nurse’s face as she methodically checked over him with pursed lips. When she pulled back the pad covering the wound, he could see the stitches keeping it closed and the slightly puffy skin around it. She quickly applied something to the area, then returned the pad and pulled the sheets up around him.

“You’ve got a visitor.” The same annoyed expression returned to her face as she glanced at the door, then smooth back out when she brought her eyes back to him. “He’s been begging to come in here all day. He says he’s your soulmate, but you don’t have one on files. If he is, he’s a persistent one. If he isn’t, I can send him away.”

Tim looked at his string to see it disappeared under the crack at the bottom of the door. “Does he look a bit older than me? About six years?”

“Give or take.”

“Can you open the door for him?”

“Sure.”

In a few swift strides, the nurse reached the door to open it and motioned for the man on the other side to step in. Tim’s breath caught in his throat at the sight of blue-green eyes and pitch-black hair except for a patch of white. He had a strong jawline that perfectly matched the strength he could see in the rest of body-muscular chest, bulging biceps, thick thighs. While all that was well and good, the thing that really got a smile on his face was the string running from his pinky to Tim’s.

“Hey. I-um…” The man laughed and scrubbed at his face, drawing Tim’s attention to the dark bags under his eyes and stubble starting to get a touch too long. “You’d think I would’ve come up with something better than that after having so much time to think about this. Are you feeling okay? Or, I should probably introduce myself. Wow, I have no idea what I’m doing.”

“I don’t either.”

Another laugh bubbled out of the man’s lips as he stepped further into the room and waited for Tim to nod before he took a seat in the chair next to his bed. “I’m Jason.”

“Tim. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

“Same. Although, I would’ve preferred something less… dramatic?”

“I think we both agree on that. It would’ve been nice to meet you without getting shot.”

“Believe me, the feeling is mutual on that as well.” Jason leaned forward slightly, nearly losing control of his body and faceplanting on the side of his bed. “Sorry. I can’t remember the last time I slept.”

“You should sleep. We can talk more after.”

“Right. I can come back later.”

“Or you could stay. There’s plenty of room.”

“Are you sure? I know we’re soulmates, but-”

“No buts. Get up here.”

Shakily, Jason rose to his feet and moved to the other side of the bed to avoid making a mess of all the wires. With more care than Tim thought necessary, Jason slipped onto the bed next to Tim on top of the blankets with his shoes still on. Tim looked pointedly at the shoes and held back his laughter at the grumble Jason let out as he leaned down to take them off. They dropped to the ground next to the bed with soft thuds, then Jason settled back still on top of the blankets.

“You can get underneath.”

“It’s fine. I was planning on sleeping in the waiting room anyways. This is much better than that.”

Tim rolled his eyes at how stubborn his soulmate was being. “Unless you have a legitimate reason not to, get under the blankets. I like to cuddle.”

“That’s good to hear, because I love to cuddle.”

“Then hurry up, so we can sleep.”

* * *

 

His toes could just barely brush the ground, but he wasn’t focused on the little hop he’d have to take to get off the bed. All his focus was on the man standing patiently in front of him with his arms set to catch him should his knees buckle or his balance get off. He trusted Jason to catch him no matter what happened. It made the idea of standing on his own for the first time since he got shot a significantly less daunting an idea than it had earlier. Jason would catch him.

After one last breath out, he let his body slid off the bed and landed shakily on his feet. “I did it.”

“And you didn’t even need me to catch you.”

“But you would’ve caught me in your strong arms that make everyone that sees them swoon.”

“You’re so ridiculous. They’re not that nice.”

“Well, maybe I am a little biased, but Steph would totally agree with me and that is an unbiased opinion.”

“Steph is not here to confirm that statement.” In response, Tim stuck out his tongue and had to quickly pulled it back in to keep Jason from pinching it. “How are your legs feeling? Think you can walk?”

“A few steps. I’m not sure I’d be able to get far.”

“Chair it is.”

“And where are we going?”

“To the cafeteria for a romantic lunch date. I’ve got it all planned out. You’re going to be blow away.”

“Is that so? Lucky me.”

Tim accepted Jason’s help into the wheelchair and let Jason fuss about him-adjusting the large hoodie, making sure his feet were settled comfortably, pinning back the piece of hair that fell out of his bun. “Ready?”

“I’ve been ready.”

“Sorry for trying to make this first date perfect.”

“I already know it’s going to be perfect because you planned it. Even if we have to hurry out of there because it’s your turn hold your goddaughter, it’ll be perfect. Actually, that would make it perfect because that would mean I can finally meet her.”

“How are you so… so fucking perfect?”

“You don’t seriously expect me to give away my secrets.” He tipped his head back to look up at Jason and got a kiss placed on his forehead for his troubles. “Maybe, I’ll tell you one day. No promises.”

“I’ve got plenty of time to wear you down.”

“The rest of our lives to be exact.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Comments and kudos always greatly appreciated. You can find me on Tumblr ([SociallyAwkwardFoxWriter](http://sociallyawkwardfoxwriter.tumblr.com/)).


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